Lysandra rolls her eyes, her annoyance palpable as she dismissively clicks her tongue. "Tsk, It was an accident," she states, her voice dripping with disinterest as she stifles a yawn.
Biana, on the other hand, is anything but calm, rising to her feet in indignation. "An accident? A fucking accident!? You blasted me into that ugly bastard..." she grumbles, frustration mounting as she clutches her head.
Saelin, trying to make sense of the unfolding chaos, rubs her eyes in confusion. 'What is going on?' she ponders internally before attempting to intervene. "How about we calm down a—" But her peace-making efforts are cut short as Biana, in a fit of anger, hurls her pillow at her. "Stay out of this, long legs!" she shouts. The pillow, imbued with unseen power, strikes Saelin's stomach with surprising force, propelling her back against a tree with enough impact to nearly break it. Gasping for air, Saelin clutches her stomach. "Y-you damn bitch!" she exclaims, shocked by the pillow's unexpected potency. 'What the hell, how powerful is this damn pillow?' she wonders, eyeing the glowing runes etched into the fabric.
Meanwhile, Lysandra watches the chaos unfold with a detached boredom, her hand twitching involuntarily. She forcefully grabs it with her other hand, trying to suppress the rising energy. 'Tsk, Kael, I can't hold it for much longer, hurry up and find me already,' she thinks, her patience wearing thin.
Uda, witnessing the escalation, smirks though with a hint of anger, "Now you've done it, you damn noble. Attacking your own team?" She clenches her fists, her voice laced with a mix of disdain and challenge. "You need a good beating. Hopefully, that rotten noble brain of yours resets."
Biana, far from cowed, retorts sharply, "Shut the hell up, you puerile bitch. I'm not in the mood for your crap." She ceases rubbing her head, noticing the blood on her hand. 'That damn fucker threw me so fast I couldn't activate the runes on my pillow in time,' she reflects bitterly.
Uda raises an eyebrow, her laughter carrying a mocking tone. "Puerile? The childish bitch here is you, attacking your teammates simply 'cause you're angry." She prepares herself, casting a magic circle as a warning. "You nobles are selfish fucks."
Biana, undeterred and increasingly agitated, counters with growing annoyance, "Noble this, noble that. Get over it already."
Biana, seething with unbridled fury, reaches into her pouch, her actions deliberate and filled with venom. "I'm fucking pissed. I just wanted to sleep in peace like I always do. But now, I've got a headache and I can't fall asleep," she growls, yanking out talismans one after another and tearing them apart with vicious intent. Uda and Saelin exchange worried glances before their attention snaps back to the unfolding wrath of Biana. Meanwhile, Lysandra languidly warns, "Watch out."
Uda, puzzled, turns towards Lysandra, only to be interrupted by Biana's charge. The magic circle at Uda's feet glows ominously, absorbing the full brunt of Biana's futile punch. Uda laughs off the attempt, her confidence unshaken. "Pfff, is that all you got?" she taunts, her amusement clear.
Biana grinds her teeth in annoyance. 'She's absorbing the impact, the magic circle is transferring the kinetic energy into the ground. What a cheap trick,' she thinks bitterly.
At this moment, Saelin, with cautious steps, approaches from behind, offering a misguided solution. "You should take a nap," she suggests, wielding the infamous pillow against Biana. But the pillow fails, leaving Saelin dumbfounded. Biana spins around, eyes blazing with scorn. "You dare use my pillow against me? No one but me can use it," she snarls, yanking the pillow from Saelin's grip and using it to send her crashing against a tree once more. Saelin gasps for air, her mind racing, 'Ugh... this human is weird,' she muses, struggling to her feet.
Amidst the chaos, Uda conjures a fire orb, hurling it towards Biana with a flick of her wrist. However, Biana nonchalantly deflects the attack with her blanket, rendering the fiery onslaught futile. "You're all so damn annoying," Biana declares, frustration boiling over as she turns her fury towards Uda, pummeling her with the enchanted pillow.
The relentless assault intensifies, each blow transferring force through Uda's magic circle and into the ground, causing it to crack and splinter beneath her. Biana's relentless, "Let's see how much you can take, bitch," she taunts, each word punctuated with a strike as her anger, mixed with a bizarre sense of determination, fills the clearing.
Uda, trying to retreat, finds her movements hampered as the ground vibrates fiercely around her legs. "Do you think these weak-ass attacks are going to do anything?" she challenges, her voice steady but her forehead beading with sweat as she strains to maintain her magic circle. Biana, her grin widening with every blow, taunts back, "What's the matter? Losing focus already?" While continuing her pillow onslaught with one hand, she ferociously tears apart more talismans with her teeth, her physical prowess amplifying by the second, causing the ground to tremble even more violently.
Suddenly, Saelin interjects with authoritative force. "Enough!" She raises her palm, and instantly, spikes made of tree roots burst from the ground, wedging themselves between Biana and Uda. The spikes ensnare Biana, immobilizing her arms and legs. Saelin, exasperated, rubs her temples. "Ladies, we're in a forest filled with criminals, can we stop fucking fighting?" she implores, her frustration palpable.
Uda, seizing the opportunity, smirks at the restrained Biana. "Look at you, this is what happens to bad nobles," she says, flicking Biana's forehead with disdain. Biana, however, merely clicks her tongue in irritation. Struggling, she manages to rip another talisman. A wind arrow forms, and with a spiteful "fuck you," she launches it. Uda dodges, but Biana's target is not her; the wind arrow strikes Lysandra, who has been lying down with her eyes closed.
Lysandra exhales slowly, her calm demeanor contrasting with her trembling hands. "Oh shit... now you've done it, you dumbass," she mutters, frustration bleeding into her voice. Saelin, attempting to mediate, advises, "Hey, look at her, no need to get angry." But Lysandra, consumed by a mounting rage, exclaims, "Fuck, I need a fight..." before unleashing a pillar of fire straight at Biana.
Biana, unfazed, smirks as her blanket glows, redirecting all the fire towards Uda. Uda, caught off guard, shrieks, "Ahh! You!" She hastily casts two magic circles, deflecting the fire, which then unexpectedly strikes Saelin in the face.
Saelin, coughing and grunting from the sudden assault, yells out in agony, "Mother Earth! Why are humans so stupid!?" The frustration and disbelief in her voice are palpable as she hastily gulps down a healing potion.
Biana, seething with a fierce determination, shatters her wooden restraints with sheer force. She turns her glare towards Saelin, dripping with contempt. "If you had a healing potion, you could've just handed it over," she spits out, clicking her tongue while massaging the burgeoning injury on her head.
Saelin, unimpressed and firm, retorts, "They're my potions; you should've brought your own." Her stance is unyielding, a clear assertion of self-reliance in the face of Biana's entitlement.
Lysandra, having had enough, releases a heavy sigh and launches herself at Biana with unexpected speed. She delivers a powerful punch directly to Biana's face, the impact sending her hurtling backward, breaking through a tree with the sheer force of her flight. Biana, rising from the debris, groans, "Damn bitch, that hurt..." She reaches into her pouch, intent on escalating the conflict. "Let's do—" But she's abruptly silenced as Lysandra, relentless, lands another punch squarely on her face. Before Biana can even process the hit, Lysandra's fists connect again and again, and again, and again.
Saelin attempts to intervene, employing the same nature-bound tactics she used on Biana. But Lysandra shatters the tree roots as if they were mere twigs.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Sera stretches leisurely, her gaze wandering curiously over their new surroundings. "This is weird, is it only two people per group?" she muses aloud, her black wavy hair dancing in the gentle breeze. She turns expectantly towards Isadora, seeking her input. As usual, Isadora offers only a noncommittal shrug, her face as expressionless as ever.
Sera gnaws on her inner cheek in thought. 'Hmm... She hangs out around Kael a lot according to Mira...' Her mind churns with curiosity as they continue their journey. Out loud, she ventures, "You're lucky to have V in your class. I love his food but back in the academy, I was afraid I'd bother him if I asked for some." Isadora, true to form, simply sips from her coconut, offering no response.
Sera exhales heavily, the weight of isolation pressing down on her. 'Ugh... this is so depressing, I want to talk to someone,' she laments internally. Meanwhile, Isadora reaches into her pouch and produces a tray of food, extending it towards Sera. "He made this," she states quietly.
Sera hesitates, a mixture of surprise and politeness etching her features. "I-it's yours, I wouldn't want to take your food," she stammers, declining the gesture. Isadora, unfazed, simply nods and begins to eat, skillfully balancing the coconut on her head.
Left to her own devices, Sera delves into her pouch, retrieving some snacks to munch on. Yet, as she nibbles absentmindedly, her senses are haunted by the aroma of Isadora's meal. 'It smells so good...' she thinks, regret mingling with longing in her heart.
-
After a bit of walking, Sera and Isadora, who have maintained a straight line and continued to eat, are suddenly jolted into action. In a blink, both girls leap aside as two sword strikes slash through the air where they just stood, one from each side. Using a nearby tree, they push themselves back, creating distance between them and their assailants.
Emerging from their hiding, two men appear: one bald, known as Johnny, and the other, Billy, sporting dark brown hair. They both wear menacing grins, with Johnny chuckling, "Hmhmhmhm, Billy looks like we got lucky." Billy's smirk, accentuated by a scar on his lips, gives him a more intimidating presence. "Hahaha, this is great, Johnny. There's supposed to be four per group, to think we got two."
Johnny, with a malicious glint, suggests, "Hey, what do you say we have some fun with them first?" Billy, eyeing Sera and Isadora, licks his lips with unsavory intent. "Damn, they're cute."
Sera's reaction is instant, her face contorting in disgust. "Ugh... you disgusting criminals," she spits out, her disdain clear. Isadora, however, remains as expressionless as ever, undisturbed by the threat.
Billy, taking their reactions as a challenge, declares, "First, we'll need to break their limbs." In an instant, the men close the distance, but Sera and Isadora, mirroring each other's movements, leap up. They utilize each other as springboards, their soles pressing together, allowing them to flip back and regain distance.
The criminals seem amused by the resistance. "I like feisty girls," Billy remarks with a twisted grin as he lunges at Sera. However, she expertly blocks the strike, the clash creating a small shockwave. "How shameless, your mother is disappointed in you, without a doubt," Sera retorts sharply as she jumps back.
Sera, her body shimmering with a luminous coat of mana, charges towards Billy with determined speed. Billy, unfazed and grinning broadly, retorts, "I have no mother," as he clenches his fist and smashes it into the ground. The impact sends cracks spider-webbing through the area, disrupting Sera's charge.
He appears next to Sera, sneering, "I'm going to enjoy you—" But Sera, with a swift motion that cuts through his words as sharply as her intended strike, interrupts him, "Everyone has a mother. Whether you choose to love her or not is your decision. However, in the end, regardless of what she has done, she gave birth to you." Her blade sings through the air, aiming for his shoulder. Billy, caught off guard, manages a hasty block, the blade grazing perilously close, a whisper away from his skin.
Sera, undeterred, pivots on her heel, mana still swirling around her. She launches a series of rapid slashes, each one a deadly dance of light and motion. Billy, recovering from the initial shock, parries with gritty determination, his own sword clashing against hers in a cacophony of metal. 'Too close,' he thinks, sweat beading on his forehead, the danger of her blade reigniting a fire in his eyes.
Billy, attempting to regain the upper hand, launches a counterattack, his blade aiming for an arc that would force Sera into a defensive position. Sera, however, anticipates his move, stepping aside with the grace of a seasoned fighter. She retaliates with a low sweep, aiming to unbalance him, her blade slicing through the air with lethal intent.